It was the executive's third consecutive visit to the conference, where players in the infantile offshore wind energy industry converge to discuss possible business.

The reason is that Montco owns a key piece of equipment in the effort to erect seabed-anchored wind farms off the Atlantic coast. The Liftboat Robert is the largest liftboat currently active in North America, Oregeron said, and one of few in the world large enough to erect the 50-plus-yard blades affixed to the offshore windmills. It is used to dismantle oil rigs.

“It all started in 2001, with Cape Wind wanting to put turbines off of Nantucket Sound” in Massachusetts, Orgeron said. “That was the prototype project that we would get calls about.”

Montco has already sent some of its vessels to the Northeast to perform core sampling of the seabed, first for scientific purposes, and later to determine the feasibility of anchoring wind turbines to the seabed.

“We went up to learn how to do a different job, and I go to conferences every year just to keep a finger on the pulse of a potentially new market,” he said.

There is no clear timeline, however, for when potential offshore wind projects may begin.

Cape Wind has already been permitted and approved to build 130 offshore wind turbines, each generating 3.6-megawatt hours of electricity, or enough to power around 200,000U.S. homes, according to Cape Wind communication director Mark Rodgers.

Snags have come in trying to find financing for the project. A recent proposal to build a smaller, 25-megawatt wind farm off the coast of New Jersey was denied approval by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities amid concerns the project would be too costly.

Rodgers said the exact budget projection for the Cape Wind project is proprietary information. In March, the Cape Cod Times reported the project leaders had arranged to borrow $2 billion of a projected $2.6 billion cost.

In 2010, the U.S. Energy Information Administration found offshore wind energy to be the second-most expensive form of energy behind solar-thermal energy. The Information Administration reported that offshore wind cost for plants projected to enter service in 2016 was $209 per megawatt-hour. Combined cycle natural gas plants commissioned for 2016 had a reported capital cost of $17.90 per megawatt-hour.

Still, proponents of wind energy believe the potential upside will make large investments feasible in the near future.

The Cape Wind project has also been held up by a series of lawsuits that claim the windmills would damage the value of waterfront property. Bloomberg reported that Cape Wind has two legal appeals remaining after winning 13 previous legal battles.

Rodgers said he does not expect Cape Wind's proposal to be affected by the recent decline in natural gas prices, which critics have said make alternative energy such as offshore wind less attractive to potential investors.

If so, Louisiana firms would have advantages over offshore service companies operating purpose-built lift boats in Europe, where six offshore wind farms have already opened off the coastline of Denmark and the United Kingdom.

Orgeron said the adjustment cost foreign firms pay to perform contract work for U.S. projects could help boost the proposals of domestic companies like Montco.

Montco already has concrete idea of the type of competitive advantage his firm may have.

“At this most recent conference, the discussion was mainly over whether or not to use the very limited number of U.S. vessels or to bring in European support,” Orgeron said. “We are not going to be able to put up 100 turbines in a farm, but they will start by doing pilot projects. It's not worth the cost of mobilizing boats from Europe just to build a few turbines.”

While offshore construction platforms in Europe, which are different than Montco's liftboats, run European firms between $180,000 to $200,000 per day, Montco charges $80,000 per day to clients in the Gulf.

Add to that about a $10,000 surcharge for moving work crews and supplies up the eastern seaboard, and Orgeron said Montco still has a hefty advantage in starting price for the offshore projects, when and if they do arrive.

Plus, what's needed for the job is in south Louisiana.

The Liftboat Robert is 135 feet wide and 290 feet long with 335-foot legs. The boat is almost as long as a football field, and its legs are longer.

Kerry Chauvin, Gulf Island's CEO, said it took 150 employees one year to complete the project at the company's Houma yard.

<p>The dawning of a new offshore industry nowhere near Louisiana could create opportunities for at least one local company. </p><p>Two weeks ago, Joseph Orgeron, chief technology officer at Galliano-based Montco Offshore, travelled to Providence, R.I., to attend the annual American Wind Energy Association's conference on offshore wind energy.</p><p>It was the executive's third consecutive visit to the conference, where players in the infantile offshore wind energy industry converge to discuss possible business. </p><p>The reason is that Montco owns a key piece of equipment in the effort to erect seabed-anchored wind farms off the Atlantic coast. The Liftboat Robert is the largest liftboat currently active in North America, Oregeron said, and one of few in the world large enough to erect the 50-plus-yard blades affixed to the offshore windmills. It is used to dismantle oil rigs.</p><p>“It all started in 2001, with Cape Wind wanting to put turbines off of Nantucket Sound” in Massachusetts, Orgeron said. “That was the prototype project that we would get calls about.”</p><p>Montco has already sent some of its vessels to the Northeast to perform core sampling of the seabed, first for scientific purposes, and later to determine the feasibility of anchoring wind turbines to the seabed. </p><p>“We went up to learn how to do a different job, and I go to conferences every year just to keep a finger on the pulse of a potentially new market,” he said.</p><p>There is no clear timeline, however, for when potential offshore wind projects may begin. </p><p>Cape Wind has already been permitted and approved to build 130 offshore wind turbines, each generating 3.6-megawatt hours of electricity, or enough to power around 200,000U.S. homes, according to Cape Wind communication director Mark Rodgers. </p><p>Snags have come in trying to find financing for the project. A recent proposal to build a smaller, 25-megawatt wind farm off the coast of New Jersey was denied approval by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities amid concerns the project would be too costly. </p><p>Rodgers said the exact budget projection for the Cape Wind project is proprietary information. In March, the Cape Cod Times reported the project leaders had arranged to borrow $2 billion of a projected $2.6 billion cost. </p><p>In 2010, the U.S. Energy Information Administration found offshore wind energy to be the second-most expensive form of energy behind solar-thermal energy. The Information Administration reported that offshore wind cost for plants projected to enter service in 2016 was $209 per megawatt-hour. Combined cycle natural gas plants commissioned for 2016 had a reported capital cost of $17.90 per megawatt-hour.</p><p>Still, proponents of wind energy believe the potential upside will make large investments feasible in the near future. </p><p>“Here in Massachusetts, offshore wind fills a market for expanding our base of renewable energy,” Rodgers said. “We're looked at in comparison with solar and land-based wind.”</p><p>The Cape Wind project has also been held up by a series of lawsuits that claim the windmills would damage the value of waterfront property. Bloomberg reported that Cape Wind has two legal appeals remaining after winning 13 previous legal battles. </p><p>Rodgers said he does not expect Cape Wind's proposal to be affected by the recent decline in natural gas prices, which critics have said make alternative energy such as offshore wind less attractive to potential investors. </p><p>If so, Louisiana firms would have advantages over offshore service companies operating purpose-built lift boats in Europe, where six offshore wind farms have already opened off the coastline of Denmark and the United Kingdom.</p><p>Orgeron said the adjustment cost foreign firms pay to perform contract work for U.S. projects could help boost the proposals of domestic companies like Montco.</p><p>Montco already has concrete idea of the type of competitive advantage his firm may have. </p><p>“At this most recent conference, the discussion was mainly over whether or not to use the very limited number of U.S. vessels or to bring in European support,” Orgeron said. “We are not going to be able to put up 100 turbines in a farm, but they will start by doing pilot projects. It's not worth the cost of mobilizing boats from Europe just to build a few turbines.”</p><p>While offshore construction platforms in Europe, which are different than Montco's liftboats, run European firms between $180,000 to $200,000 per day, Montco charges $80,000 per day to clients in the Gulf. </p><p>Add to that about a $10,000 surcharge for moving work crews and supplies up the eastern seaboard, and Orgeron said Montco still has a hefty advantage in starting price for the offshore projects, when and if they do arrive.</p><p>Plus, what's needed for the job is in south Louisiana.</p><p>The Liftboat Robert is 135 feet wide and 290 feet long with 335-foot legs. The boat is almost as long as a football field, and its legs are longer.</p><p>Kerry Chauvin, Gulf Island's CEO, said it took 150 employees one year to complete the project at the company's Houma yard.</p>